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The Hummingbird House: Chirimoto-Amazon Project |
logo designed by Burcu Gunduz
Building the community center (photo gallery)
Project Location The “Hummingbird House” Cultural Center Project of Chirimoto (CCCCCH) is located in the district of Chirimoto (population approximately 300 people), in the Rodríguez de Mendoza province of Peru’s Amazonas Department. It is from this location that the project is expected to develop and later expand its programs to include other nearby districts, particularly in the area of environmental preservation. Country: Perú
Department: Amazonas
Province: Rodríguez de Mendoza
District: Chirimoto
General Information: Chirimoto
* Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas del Perú: http://www.inei.gob.pe/home1.asp
Historical background and the current situation in Chirimoto
Natives of the forest in the pre-hispanic age: the history of successive conquests Chirimoto, along with the other towns that stretch along the banks of the Shocol river to the Guambo River in the province of Rodríguez de Mendoza, have been inhabited by groups native to the jungle since time immemorial, some of which have only recently been recorded in history. The only things that remain of these earlier inhabitants are the linguistic vestiges found in regional topography and scarce oral traditions that were recompiled by the chronicler Rodríguez de Terna, among whom some names still survive like the Alones, Sayos and Choltos (or Sholtos, probably derived from Shocol) (Rodríguez de Terna, cited by the priest Alejandro Salazar in Las Casas E., 1936). These groups were either incorporated into the group known as the Chachapoyas or left the area for the lowland jungles of northern Peru. Native communities of the Department of Amazonas, like the Aguarunas, are perhaps the descendants of the original inhabitants of these lands, known since the Spanish conquest as the Valley of Guayabamba.
The Chachapoyas, on the other hand, had a more marked presence, dominating the northeastern portion of Peru for eight centuries (700-1500 ad). Many impressive remains of their architecture and their handicrafts have been uncovered, samples of which include replicas of the purunmacos or luyano sarcophagi, found recently in the hills of Palmira (Chirimoto).
Together with the characteristically circular architectural remains of the Chachapoyas, the strong presence of Incan Quechua culture is also frequently seen in the northeastern zone of Peru: walkways, stone walls, rectangular shrines, tools and utensils, and Quechuan toponymy among other things show evidence of Quechuan presence. In 1480, the Quechuan conquest and advance, led by the Inca Túpac Tupanqui, occupied the famous Kuelap fortress, the greatest bastion of the Chachapoyas, thus consolidating Tupanqui’s hegemony in this territory.
*The Kuelap Fortress: Chachapoyas
The last conquest: the arrival of the Europeans According to the historians of this period, the first Europeans to arrive, who were principally of Spanish ancestry, found the Quechuas and Chachapoyas at war with each other. As a result of these battles, some of the Chachapoyas joined the Spaniards against their Quechuan oppressors, while others hid in the nearby mountains next to the Laguna de los Cóndores otherwise known as the Laguna de las Momias, located in what is now the area where the Department of Amazonas meets that of San Martín. Accounts indicate that the Spaniards’ confrontations in this zone were not with the Chachapoyas but instead with more remote fortifications of Quechuas who were retreating and no longer offering major resistance to the colonial Spanish advance. With the arrival of Spanish, Creole, and Mestizo settlers to this mountainous area began a successive wave of migrations of settlers who came from the principal colonial cities of conquered Peru. They were drawn to the area by the fabulous legends of El Dorado and the El Reino del Pajatén and later for the beauty and fertility of the lands. Shortly after the official conquest of Peru, the colonists founded the city of Chachapoyas (2,335 meters, or 7,661 feet above sea level) in 1538, taking the old name of the culture that anteceded the Quechuas. This city is currently the capital of the Department of Amazonas. Eventually entering the zone of the highland tropical forest, the settlers continued occupying more territories, which would come to be known as the Valley of Guayabamba (approximately 1500 meters, or 5,085 feet above sea level). It is there that some of the oldest towns, like Santa Rosa, were founded. This area was recorded in the chronicles of Martínez Compañón in 1782, along with the Parajes del Guambo sugarcane and cotton plantations.
The last century: a mythical Chirimoto In the year 1874, the locality of Chirimoto along with that of Paltayurco, appeared for the first time in written history in the notes of the Italian scientist and traveler, Antonio Raimondi. During that period, the most direct ancestors of today’s inhabitants of Chirimoto arrived. These settlers consolidated the Chirimotan culture, knowing how to make use of their different legacies, both genetic and cultural, native-American and European. In this way, Chirimoto (chiri-moto: a word whose origin is the combination of two languages: “chiri” meaning “cold” in Quechua and “moto” a word without a definite meaning but perhaps coming from the language of the Chachapoyas) flourished for more than a century, a popular spot throughout the region because of the beauty of its landscapes as well as for the happiness and solidarity that characterized its people.
During that time, Chirimoto was something of a mythical place in the Rodríguez de Mendoza province. It is remembered as a place where generosity and beauty sprouted spontaneously from its citizens and their lands. The Chirimotans were known as friendly hosts who hospitably shared their houses, gardens, fields, lakes and the fruits of their labor with visitors. Poverty did not exist and people enjoyed good health and sufficient education, considering the limitations of the rural context in which they lived, far away from large cities. Even within such a context, students from primary school could easily obtain higher levels of education in the capital of the province, or even more advanced levels of instruction in Lima or by studying abroad. Today, no native inhabitant of the Valley of Guayabamba older than 40 years of age does not reminisce about those golden years of Chirimoto. The sweetness of the Chirimotan fruits continue to live in the memories of the people: oranges, medlars, palillos, pitajayas, chirimoyas, papayas, plantains, guavas, and chamburros, along with the pastries made from guava and milk, the communal celebrations of the past, and the hard work and dedication of the population.
Some years ago: disasters and natural readjustments Nonetheless, the age of well-being in Chirimoto came to an abrupt end. Devastating floods were caused by the sudden climatic changes that the whole world is now witnessing. These environmental problems, which are becoming more and more frequent, are caused in the South American, Peruvian and Amazonas cases, by accelerated deforestation of the tropical forests. In Chirimoto, the devastation began 25 years ago; after strong rainstorms during the months of March, April and May in the years 1980, 1981 and 1982, the Shocol River flooded, destroying all of the houses in the center of the town. This natural disaster ripped the population apart. More than half of the citizens emigrated to the mountains in Laurel, located in the Omia district, looking for new places to continue their lives. In these virgin lands, the emigrants established a new town and gave it the name New Chirimoto.
Those who were favored in this exodus were the New-Chirimotans, who up until now have been one of the most prosperous communities in the province, although this success has proven itself to be primarily economic, and many of the old Chirimotan traditions and customs surrounding the protection of the environment have not been upheld. If this situation persists, problems like the accelerated deforestation of the lands threaten the entire region with future disasters, the sum of which is the accelerated destruction of the zone’s rich biodiversity. In this sense, it is necessary to learn from past experiences, in order to not suffer from the same disasters that severely stunted Chirimoto’s development. Those who stayed in Chirimoto and decided not to renounce their land and their customs, those who took root in a heroic resistance and reconciliation with nature, have continuously faced the threat of a new flood all the while trying to reestablish their roots in the face of great economic hardships and personal difficulties.
As a result of these tragic occurrences, while other nearby districts have continued to development slowly at the rate of modernization that a country like Peru permits, gaining access to basic communication channels, electric energy, medical posts and schools, all that remains of Chirimoto, the district capital and the once grand town, is a small impoverished population with only one school with two classrooms and rising rates of illiteracy. Even other areas of the district, the so-called areas of country houses, are considerably more developed: Achamal, Zarumilla, and Santo Toribio, and have better schools and much better implemented sanitary posts.
Current times: hope and rebirth Thankfully the ghost of the floods has now left and Chirimoto’s sun has returned to dry up her fields in the summer months of May, June, July and August. Communal works and help financed by institutions like FONCODES, with budgets from the Inter-American Development Bank, have allowed for a profound cleaning of the natural drainage system of the Shocol river and in the last decade the strong rains that fall in the months of March and April have not resulted in flooding.
Now motivated by new impulses, with love and hope newly invested in the land, and with the desire for and confidence in life and work, the Chirimotan community is reorganizing itself and working towards its own Renaissance.
This project and its plans for development emphasize the importance of combining Chirimoto’s traditions and customs with basic technology to improve the different areas of Chirimoto’s communal life, such as agriculture, health and education. Technology such as this will work towards conserving the environment and will permit the town’s harmonious development as they advance toward a traditional Chirimotan sense of community like that which was enjoyed years ago.
Objectives of the Project (The photos seen below are examples of some of the short-term objectives that have achieved during the last six months) “The Chirimoto-Amazon project: The “Hummingbird House” is a civil organization created with the purpose of working toward a reorganization of the Chirimotan community. The goal of these activities is to promote the harmonious growth of the town, placing particular emphasis in the areas of health, education and the modernization of agriculture. This growth will be based on the recovery of its own traditions and at the same time on the search for resources that will allow for access to new technologies that will enable growth and development with special care given to environmental conservation. In summary, the objective simply stated is: The Hummingbird House hopes to create an “organic” town in the context of a world that is quickly heading toward its own toxic saturation. Short-term plans and beyond 1. Communal organization As part of the revival plan, the community of Chirimoto is in the process of actively organizing different areas of its communal life, such as: public security, public works and the recovery of its traditions. The Hummingbird House is collaborating with the community to reestablish the custom of having an annual collective celebration in the town. This year it will be held from July 26 to 28, at which time the Hummingbird House will be inaugurated, and for this reason the theme for the festivities is “The Renaissance of Chirimoto.” According to Chirimotan tradition, the genuine reason and rallying point for such celebrations had not only been for rejoicing and creating camaraderie, but also to discuss the rights and duties of all of Chirimoto’s citizens, emphasizing their communal responsibilities in daily life, and their impact on the well-being of the town and its people.
2. Construction of the Cultural Center Currently a large, two-story building is being constructed, which is destined to operate as the Cultural Center of the town. The building will have, amongst other things, a:
3. Health In view of the deterioration of the health of many members of the community, one of the short term activities which has been planned is the visit of a team of doctors, whose medical campaign will focus on the areas of nutrition, general medicine, dentistry, gastroenterology, gynecology and psychology. 4. Agriculture Promotion of the systematized cultivation of Sacha Inchi (also known as Inca Inchi) as an organic and economically productive nutritional resource of the area. This plant that grows spontaneously in territories of Chirimoto and throughout the Department of Amazonas, as well as in other parts of the Peru’s tropical forests, has a high unsaturated fat content with large amounts of the Omega-3 fatty acid. It has been used for thousands of years by the natives of these regions and was recently re-discovered by western scientists. More information can be found on the Web Page and in Appendix 1.
5. Education and culture The implementation of seminars for the conservation of literary oral tradition and other activities of artistic and educational character: story telling, writing, reading, poetry, painting, theater, photography and music.
6. Environment - Construction of a zoo aimed at conserving species native to the zone, particularly those that are in danger of distinction, as is the case of the scissor-tailed Hummingbird.
7. Help us to be able to help We believe that the fight against poverty in South America and all across the planet is a fight against selfishness. Therefore, the development of agricultural and cultural activities will allow us to implement, from the town of Chirimoto, campaigns of solidarity with indigneous communities in the Department of Amazonas, groups like the Aguarunas, who currently live in conditions of extreme and alarming poverty. Everyone’s invited to the Hummingbird House: Let’s work together!
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